Forever Changing
by Potterlover13yay
Summary: People are always changing. Some changes are good. Some are bad. This is the story of how a boy fell in love with a girl, how a girl fell in love with her sworn enemy, how a girl proved she was strong and how a girl who everyone thought was strong proved to be weak. How a boy let his best friend go, how a boy made the right choice and how his friend made the wrong choice.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello,**

 **You may have read my other fanfiction, my 7th year at Hogwarts, but I decided to stop writing it. I figured it would be better to write from the start, when Lily, James, Severus and their friends are all in first year. I'm planning on going through each year, though some years will probably get more attention than others. I hope you like this fic, do tell me what you think.** **Rated T for safety.**

 **Disclaimer:** I wish I were J.K Rowling, but sadly I'm not. (Duh.)

Getting to 128 Tannerview street in Cokeworth is quite easy. Start from the bridge and walk along the river for about 15 minutes. Turn right when you come across the towering dull drill factory. You'll enter the suburbs, which are greener and neater than the dusty center of the town. Pass by the small children's park, containing a little set of swings, a seesaw, and a slide. Turn left when you see the giant yellow house. You'll be on Tannerview street. Stop when you see a neat porch littered with flower pots, mostly lilies, and petunias. There will also be a porch swing, more often than not occupied by one of the Evans girls. The house has been painted a light blue. It's isn't big, but it suffices for a family of four. If you peer into one of the windows, you'll see an overstuffed brown armchair in front of the television, where Henry Evans spends the majority of his time reading the newspaper with a pipe in his mouth. You'll see two imposing bookcases filled with diverse books. If you happened to take this itinerary and pass in front of this house exactly on September 1rst 1971 at half past eight, you would see a short, freckled girl with hair tightly pulled into plaits wearing a faded blue dress sitting on the porch steps impatiently. If you looked closely, you would notice how she had wide, dazzling green eyes, large, expressive hands, thin lips and tiny feet. Maybe you would have stopped and talked to her. Maybe not. Even if you had, she would have never told you where she was going, how she felt about it. She would have never told you the truth.

Lily Evans bounced up and down on the stone steps of her porch in impatience. Beside her sat her favorite book, A Wrinkle In Time. It had been discarded hours ago, now Lily could only focus on how, in only in a few hours, she was going to go to Hogwarts! She had been waiting for this day for at least two years. At Hogwarts, she would really belong. She wouldn't have to hide her "unusual" powers there, on the contrary, she would be able to develop them, use them consciously. Best of all, her best friend Severus was gonna there too! Hogwarts was going to be amazing. But Lily still had a few hours to wait. No matter how much she had begged and pleaded her parents, they were firm on dropping Sev and her off only an hour early. Lily had spent many nights dreaming about what it would be like, would the Hogwarts Express look like all the other trains? What would the teachers be like? What kind of classes would there be? Would the food be good? Sev had told her that the school was a castle invisible to muggles, but that seemed strange. Whoever had heard of a school being an invisible castle? He had also told her that some of the classes would be Charms and Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, but what did that include? Lily had also spent many sleepless nights having nightmares about it. What if she was actually a Muggle and couldn't see the castle at all? Would they wipe her memory and send her back? What if she was the worst in class? What if everybody knew how to perform loads of magic already? How far behind would she be? Sev had also told her about the Sorting. What if she wasn't in Slytherin with Sev? She couldn't imagine him not being in the same House as him. A sharp voice interrupted her endless questions.

"I'm going to the parc. Goodbye, freak," said Petunia Evans. Lily anxiously gazed up at her face. Her sister had shoulder-length dirty blond hair paired with narrow blue eyes, high cheekbones, a pointed nose and chin and a long neck. She was wearing a long pink and white dress with shiny flats.

"Wait, Tuney! I want to come with you!" Lily pleaded, quickly standing up. Petunia rolled her eyes and shook her head, acting superior. She watched her little sister's face crumple, obviously enjoying the attention.

"Please! Mum said I couldn't go alone!" Lily begged, taking her sister's hand. Petunia pursed her lips.

"Fine. But only if you don't do anything... unusual." Petunia sighed, grabbing her overjoyed sister's hand. Lily smiled widely, it had been so long since Petunia had wanted to play with her! The two sister walked down the street together, hand in hand, one blonde, one redhead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Potter Manor was slightly bigger than other houses. No, scratch that, the Potter Manor was _much_ bigger than other houses. After all, having a seven-story house equipped with its very own forest, lake, island, and Quidditch pitch is not common. No, the Potters were not your ordinary wizarding family. Maybe it had something to do with Mr. Potter being the head of the Auror Headquarters. Maybe it was because the family had always been extremely wealthy. Maybe it was because he married a woman from another extremely wealthy family, Euphemia Dearborn. Anyway, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter belonged to a rich and notable family, nobody could deny that. They were also older than most parents, being both in their seventies by the time their only child, James Potter was born. Having one child made them spoil their son very much. Probably too much. But more on that later.

"Dad says there'll even be ghosts, one for each house! How cool would that be? It's really too bad that first years can't bring their own broomsticks and try out for the Quidditch, team, with me, my house would win all the games! I'm either going to be Chaser or Seeker, I just can't choose! Of course, I'll be in Gryffindor, like Dad, and I'll get top marks in every test! Mum said the teachers would be lucky to have such a bright child. I'll also have a bunch of friends, we'll have so much fun!" James babbled to his overwhelmed house-elf, Tory. His face was alight with excitement and confidence. His jet black hair was extremely messy, maybe due to the fact he kept messing it up. He had wide hazel eyes and a bright smile.

"Isn't it the best?" The boy finished.

"Yes, Master James! Hogwarts sounds exquisite!" The house-elf squeaked as James beamed.

"Tory, your vocabulary is probably better than Dad's, and that's saying something!" James replied.

"Thank you, Master James. Tory does not deserve such affection, sir." Tory said.

"James! We're flooding to King's Cross in thirty minutes! Are your bags packed?" hollered Mrs. Potter from the first floor. James jumped up in excitement, he was nearly at Hogwarts! He looked at his most prized possession, his Silver Arrow wistfully, wishing that first years could bring brooms.

"I'm coming!" he yelled as he ran down the stairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

More often than not, Diagon Alley is busy, loaded with people and small shops. There's the famous ice cream shop, the Leaky Cauldron, Ollivander's, Madam Malkin's and, most important of all, Gringotts. On this Wednesday morning of 1971, Diagon Alley was uncharacteristically empty. Few people roamed the streets, most of them not staying long, for today almost every wizarding child in Britain went back to Hogwarts. Many parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles had taken the morning off to wave their children goodbye. They would not be coming back for at least three months. In the very heart of this exciting alley was a towering, concealed house. This was the McKinnon's house. Inside, five people were sleeping, one person was not. This particular person had long blond hair, wide blue eyes, high cheekbones and a slightly pointed chin. She had a slightly muscular body and long legs. This person happened to be Marlene McKinnon. She was going to Hogwarts for the first time, and like many of her future friends, she couldn't wait.

Marlene lovingly stroked her scrapbook, taking time to gaze at each of the moving pictures that were so special to her. First, she saw her at two years old playing with her newborn brother while her young and peaceful mother clapped happily in the background. Marlene's face fell, her mother had been happy and at peace then. That was before she had been diagnosed. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she flipped the page. Now she saw a picture of her, now around five, racing on the beach beside her dad. The picture was beautiful, the sun was setting, the ocean was a spotless dark blue and Marlene had a carefree expression she hadn't worn in a long time. She smiled wistfully as she searched for other photos. Now she saw a picture of her at around eight years old flying on a broomstick for her very first time. Marlene chuckled remembering that afternoon. She had confidently sat on the broom and kicked the ground hard. She had then been shot into the air at full speed. She had screamed as the broom spiraled, still soaring as her parents tried yelling her instructions she didn't understand. Then, taking a deep breath, she had gripped the nose of the broom and moved forcefully to go back down. She had yelled in exhilaration when she had finally managed to move the broom at her will. Then came the lessons, playing Quidditch with her friends and family, and even signing up for a Quidditch club. At Hogwarts, she hoped she could be on the team. Still smiling, she flipped the page and gasped, she had forgotten this photo. She had been a year younger than she was now, and was taking care of her permanently sick mother. Her mother's weak smile made the photo real and scary at the same time. Marlene quickly slammed the scrapbook shut and took deep breaths. Once she calmed down, she walked to her mother's room, she would be waking up soon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Chocolate bars?"

"Check."

"Dungbombs?"

"Check."

"Broom?"

"Not allowed."

"Socks?"

"Check."

"That's everything."

"Finally! It's a wonder this trunk can close it itself." sighed Sirius Black as he flopped down on his bed next to his little brother. Regulus Black started admiringly into his grey eyes paired with his curly black hair, full lips, and a pointed nose. It was obvious that the two were brothers, Regulus had the same hair, eyes, and nose.

"Are you nervous?" Regulus risked, dragging Sirius out of his reverie.

"Nervous? Not at all! Hogwarts is going to be amazing!" Sirius replied while laughing.

"I wish I could go..."

"Only two years left, then you'll be there."

"Still. I'll be alone."

"Technically you won't. There'll be our dear old parents."

"Hooray," Regulus said glumly.

"Don't worry, when you turn seventeen, you can live in a flat with me," reassured Sirius.

"I'll have to stay, it'll break Mum's heart if I go away. You have to stay too." Remus frowned as he imagined his mother's reaction if they both ran away from home.

"Who cares?"

"She's still our Mum." the younger boy said.

"Yes but-" Sirius was interrupted by his mother's shouting.

"Sirius Orion Black come down we're leaving in ten minutes!" she shouted.

"Coming!" Sirius rolled his eyes as he hollered back.

"I guess this is a goodbye, isn't it?" Regulus said worriedly.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Bye Reggie. Make sure to annoy Mum and Dad while I'm gone, my stash of Dungbombs is under my bed. Don't go crazy without me." Sirius said smirking.

"I'll see you in three months, for the winter holidays," Regulus said sadly, pulling his brother into a warm hug.

"I'll see you soon." Sirius's voice became strained.

"IF YOU DON'T COME THIS INSTANT I'LL THROW YOUR BROOM INTO THE FIREPLACE!" their Mum yelled. Sirius jumped and ran down the stairs, waving once more to his younger brother. He knew that his mother would carry out on her threat without hesitation if he didn't show up in the living room now. The black haired witch sighed in annoyance when she saw her eldest son arrive. She bristled in impatience.

"Alright, listen to me. You are to be in Slytherin and become friends with Alexander Rosier, Penelope Wilkes, Nicolai Mulciber and the other Blacks. All the others are scum. Is that clear?" She said sharply. Her son rolled his eyes, obviously bored.

"You've only told me five million times in the last year," he said.

"Take the Floo powder and go. You better bring back good results by Christmas," she said sternly, throwing him a pouch full of Floo powder. Sirius stepped into the fireplace eagerly and, throwing a handful of Floo powder into the green flames, yelled: "King's Cross!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When you asked someone in Wales what the Macdonald family were like, they would say they were "normal". Indeed, the Macdonalds were your typical family in every way. They owned a two-story house in the suburbs, they had one daughter and one son, who went to the local school, Mr. Macdonald worked in a large company, Mrs. Macdonald stayed at home and hosted the bridge club, they sometimes went on holidays in different parts of England, they owned an average car and they were kind and helpful to their neighbors. Yes, the Macdonalds were considered very normal. However, they were harboring a dark secret. Their daughter, Mary Macdonald, was a witch. Her parents had found out she was...different at around two years old. Tanya Johnson, the babysitter, had been feeding little Mary in the kitchen just like every other day.

"Come on Mary, I know you'll love it. You just have to give peas a try." She had coaxed.

"Peas... bad!" The two-year-old had blubbered. Then Tanya had tried to force the peas into the toddler's mouth. The spoon of peas had rocketed to the other side of the room, finally smashing into the wall while Mary had giggled happily. That was the last time Tanya had come to babysit. For a long time, the Macdonalds had encouraged Mary to abandon her abilities that they considered "unnatural". They had tried visiting several doctors but they always left the bewildered doctor unsatisfied. Then, on Mary's eleventh birthday, the 12th of March, an imposing stern witch wearing strange clothes knocked on their door, asking to see Mary Macdonald. She had then proceeded to tell her that magic existed and that she was a witch, therefore allowed to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then she had pulled out a stick, flicked it, and turned the table into a pig, and back again. Meaningless to say, the Macdonalds had been shocked. Then they had been wary, asking if this was some sort of hoax. After hours of explaining, they had finally reached acceptance. Mary had been so excited to go, she would finally belong! It had taken a lot of persuasion to get her parents to pay for this school, but they finally acquiesced.

Now Mary wasn't sure about going to Hogwarts. Sure, she had some special abilities, but were those really magic? She couldn't make the table turn into a pig (though not because she hadn't tried enough), did that mean she wasn't a real witch? What if this was actually a hoax like her mother had thought? Mary sighed as she looked in the mirror. She stared her tan reflection with brown curly hair, narrow blue eyes, pointed nose and full lips.

"It's too late now anyway," she said to herself nervously. It was true. All her books had been bought, along with a cauldron, robes, wizarding gold, quills, parchment and a wand, which she was dying to try out. Even her trunk was packed. All she had to do was to finish brushing her hair and get in the car with her father, who would drive her to King's Cross. Ever since they had gotten the news that their daughter was a witch, they had been more and more distant, they couldn't figure her out anymore. To them, magic was part of the unknown, and the unknown should always she avoided. Of course, they still loved their daughter, but couldn't understand how magic was a part of her life. This was unnatural, and they had a reputation to keep. Mary sighed and picked up her heavy trunk. She walked to her father's car, ready for whatever was going to come.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you absolutely sure it's going to be fine?"

"Yes, Mum, I've already told you, I've been wanting to go there since I was five!"

"But what about your… lycanthropy? Where will you transform?

"The Headmaster said he has a solution, I'll be fine!" Remus Lupin said, getting annoyed.

"I'll miss you." his mother responded desperately.

"I know. But I have to go to Hogwarts." Remus said, softening when he saw the crestfallen expression on his mother's face.

"I know you do…" she murmured, looking hesitantly into his sky blue eyes. He had light brown hair, a pale skin tone, thin lips and a charming smile, which he was wearing to comfort his mother.

"Don't worry, Mum. Every full moon, I'll go to the Hospital Wing at around eight or nine and Madam Pomfrey will lead me to a secret passage where I can transform safely. I'll be back for the holidays." Remus informed her.

"Right. I don't want you to get hurt," she stated.

"I won't." Remus lied, knowing how painful his transformations were. He left his mother in the kitchen and opened the door to take a walk outside to reflect. He gazed at the endless fields in front of him strewn with poppies, daffodils and many more flowers. He had loved living in the country as a small child, there was so much space to run around, play hide and seek or swim in the lake nearby. Now, instead of feeling free, he felt trapped. He had lived here all his life, and ever since he had been bitten, he hadn't left, any contact with friends had been withdrawn. Of course, it was safer this way, much safer. Being friends with a werewolf meant a lot of complications. Remus remembered thinking he would spend his entire life here, having nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to except his parents. Even his father had had enough, he had left three years ago, telling his wife he hadn't signed up for this, and that having a werewolf for a son was too complicated. Remus's mother had burst into tears, begging him to stay, telling him that things would change. After came a long fight, resulting in a black eye, a broken window and glasses smashed. Remus had foolishly thought listening at the keyhole was a good idea, and had heard all of it. His father's words were etched into his mind, and he had become quieter, more reserved and distant. He knew he was a complication, but hearing it had scarred him for life. One day, an owl had come to his room, carrying a short note from Hogwarts's Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He had asked the boy and his mother to meet him in his study to work out how Remus would go to Hogwarts. The young boy had been shocked, whoever had heard of a werewolf going to Hogwarts? However, as time passed, he couldn't let the idea go. He and his mother had met Dumbledore, a kind man with an abnormally long, silvery beard and eyes that seemed to twinkle all the time. He had heard the words he had been longing to hear for many years, that he was just like everyone else, and that there was no reason why a young, talented and healthy boy like him shouldn't go to Hogwarts. His solution to his lycanthropy? Planting a tree. This idea had seemed mad to Remus at first, but then he understood. This tree was not like other trees. This tree held a secret passage leading to a building called the Shrieking Shack, whatever that was, where he could transform and stay during full moons without harming anyone. Even with all this reassurance, Remus Lupin was still terribly nervous. What if a student found out and told everyone? What if he managed to get out of the room and ended up hurting, or even killing someone? He wasn't sure he could live with himself if he ever did. Not that he would have to, if that happened, he would probably be killed or sent to Azkaban on the spot. Still, the prospect of going to school and hanging out with people his age was exciting. Also, he would learn how to develop and control magic. He would about its history, magical creatures and plants. Of course, he wouldn't be able to make any friends. They would be in danger. No, it was best to be left alone. Even going to Hogwarts was taking a risk.

"Remus! Make sure you have everything you need in your trunk, we're leaving soon!" his mother's voice hollered from inside.

"Yes, Mum," he replied, making his way back to his cozy cottage.

"I've got your lunch packed for the train. I'll come with you to King's Cross," she said lovingly, handing him a bag with a few sandwiches inside. Remus tried not to make a face when he saw what was inside. He had always hated dry porc.

"Mum, you don't have to do this," he said, reddening.

"Of course I do, you're leaving me for three months at least. Now grab a bit Floo powder and go, I'll be right behind you," she reassured him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Moon family was a populated, always bustling family. Relationships between siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were always very good, which meant that almost every other weekend they were invited to yet another wedding. Now the family was giant, and Moons lived all over the world. On every special occasion, they all came together under one roof, which made the house full and quite uncomfortable. Today was one of those special occasions. Alice Moon, fifth child of Luanna and Theodore Moon was going to Hogwarts. Of course, many of her siblings had already gone. The Moons believed and liked big families, and Alice's parents were not an exception. Their first child was a tall girl with a broad frame and blond ringlets. Her name was Olivia, and she was now training to become a Healer. Their second child was a bright, funny girl with long black hair. Her name was Brooks and she was entering her 7th year at Hogwarts. Their third child was a short, baby-faced girl with sleek blond hair. Her name was Samantha and she was going to be a 5th year. Their fourth had been a funny, sweet boy with curly blond hair named Isaac. Alas, he had died from an awful potions accident a year ago, exactly on this day, September 1rst. Alice's mother hadn't been coping very well and today was quite a gloomy day for the Moon family. After him came Alice, a funny and kind girl with long brown hair, a round face and deep brown eyes. Sher had two younger siblings, Nicolas, who just a toddler, and Eloise, who was a newborn. But back to Alice. Alice bit her nails nervously, debating whether she should come down and have breakfast with her uncle Paulo, two of her aunts and her cousins. She was hungry, and her room was dead boring, but her mother might be there. She knew that if her mother was there, her devastated expression she wore on events she thought Isaac would miss would sober up everyone in the room immediately. All the happy memories with Isaac would come back, and Alice would probably cry, which was the last thing she wanted to do on her first day of school. Even thinking about how, exactly a year ago, her closest sibling had died brought tears to her eyes. He had been only one and half years older than her, which made them extremely close. She had helped him with his pranks and he told her everything about Hogwarts. Now he was gone, and Alice felt detached from everybody. Her older sisters were too old, and her younger siblings were too young. At least at Hogwarts, she would be able to connect with people her age. Alice sighed and rubbed her face. She opened her bedroom door and went down the stairs to the kitchen to have breakfast with her family. Hiding in her room was not the solution.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Pettigrew house was, like the Lupin's cottage, in the country. It was a sort of small but comfy house that made you want to go inside and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate by the fire. In fact, the Pettigrew did that a lot. They spent most of their time in the cozy living room in front of the fireplace, Mrs. Pettigrew knitting, Mr. Pettigrew telling stories and Peter Pettigrew eating or listening with fascination to his father's stories. The Pettigrews were not a rich family but were perfectly happy with what they had.

"Peter, is your trunk ready?" Mrs. Pettigrew asked her son.

"Uh… They're still a few things missing." hesitated Peter, turning to the stairs to get to his bedroom.

"It's alright, I'll do it." his mother lovingly said, disappearing from his sight. Peter sighed in happiness. In only a few short hours, he would be at Hogwarts, where he could make many friends and produce magic. He was eager to get away from his parents, who could be quite overbearing. At the same time, he didn't know what he'd do without them. He supposed he would be fine, besides, he could always come back for the holidays. He stood up from his overstuffed armchair and stretched, going up to his room. As he entered, he saw his mother carrying his trunk to the living room, proudly handing him his ticket for the Hogwarts Express.

"I can't believe my baby's finally going to Hogwarts! It seems like just yesterday you were in diapers!" she said emotionally, pulling her son into a warm hug. Peter blushed, embarrassed, but hugged his mother back, shoving his ticket into his pocket. He came into his noticeably emptier room. He ruffled his straw-colored hair nervously. He had watery blue eyes and full cheeks. He was also quite short. He looked one last time at his room and departed closing the door behind him to joins his parents.

"Are you ready for this?" his father asked jovially.

"Of course," he answered, smiling widely.

"Make sure you eat enough and don't get in trouble too much." his mother fretted.

"Sure," he answered easily.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" his father asked.

"Dunno, probably Hufflepuff, like you guys," he answered.

"Maybe you'll be a Ravenclaw, your grandmother was one." his mother wondered.

"Ravenclaw? Definitely not for me!" Peter answered while laughing.

"Remember, we don't care what house you're in, so long as you do your best." his parents said together, beaming at him proudly.

"I'll do my best." he smiled, ready to go.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Remember that house in Cokeworth? Go back there. Walk along the sidewalk for about ten minutes. Turn left when you see the park we talked about before. Walk a bit more. You'll soon see that this street isn't like Lily's street. No, it's littered with trash and empty beer bottles, and a putrid smell stays in the hair. Most of the houses are small and semi-destroyed. Some trailers and old cars are parked in the middle of the street. Go to the very end of this street. You'll find a house that was once blue but now grey, with bits of its porch burnt. If you peer through one of the windows you'll see empty beer cans, broken glasses and a few chairs someone put in the effort of making this living room presentable. This isn't an unusual sight in Spinner's End. If you happened to pass by this particular house on September 1rst 1971 at nine in the morning, you may have seen a boy with greasy black hair, narrow black eyes, pale skin, thin lips, a tall frame and a hooked nose reading quietly in front of the house. Had you approached him and shown any desire to know what book he was reading, he would have looked up warily and given a brief explanation of how he was reading this book for school. If you had tried to keep the conversation going, he would have answered your questions politely with short answers. He wouldn't have volunteered any information. Eventually, you would get bored and move on, forgetting about this distant boy who seemed to be hiding many things. His name was Severus Snape.

Severus Snape looked up from his potions book, sighing when he heard another yell coming from his house. His parents were arguing again. He winced slightly when he heard a glass being thrown then broken, but didn't venture in to see if anyone was hurt. He knew better. It was more enjoyable to stay outside, where nobody could touch him. Of course, many children and adults from the neighborhood had passed by and looked at him strangely but he had just kept in reading without a care in the world. He didn't about what these muggles thought of him anyway. They would be erased from his life soon enough. He knew his best and only friend Lily would disapprove of this sort of thinking. After all, she was a muggle-born, her parents and her sister were muggles. He would probably be talking to her right now about how excited they were about finally going to Hogwarts but her awful horse-faced sister had ruined it all, saying that Lily and she needed some quality time together before Lily left. As if. She was just jealous. Of course, Lily had been delighted that her sister was speaking to her again, she thought her sister was a great person. Then again, Lily saw the best in everyone. Including himself. He wondered what things would be like at Hogwarts. Lily was very social and loved making friends, they probably wouldn't be alone all the time, a thing he cherished. But he also wanted to make friends. Not for fun and games. No, he had to be friends with influential people, people who would get help him later in life, make him important. Severus wasn't stupid. He knew that alone he couldn't accomplish anything later in life. He checked his battered watch and realized it that soon he could go meet Lily. Her parents were driving him to the train station. With a small smile, Severus entered his house, ready to tell his parents he wanted so badly to get away from goodbye.

 **Like it? Hate it? By the way, if you spot any blatant mistakes, tell me in the reviews so I can fix them. I think I got the years right (1971 is the year Lily enters Hogwarts, right?), but I'm not completely sure.**

 **Reviews are gooey chocolate cookies,**

 **~potterlover13yay~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey people,**

 **Here's my second chapter, hope you like it!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You told me the platform would be here!"

"How was I supposed to know it was hidden? I've never even been to King's Cross!"

"We're going to miss the train and it'll be YOUR fault!"

"You're not helping either!"

"I had no idea Platform 9 and three quarters existed until we got our tickets!"

"You should have asked! A witch came to your house two months ago!"

"I thought it would be a normal platform!"

"The train's leaving in twenty minutes, we should give tapping one of the ticket barriers another try," suggested Severus.

"No way. I don't want to look like a fool in front of everyone again." huffed Lily.

"Who cares? They're just muggles!" Severus rolled his eyes.

"Look, there are two girls over there, I'm going to ask them how to get to the platform," Lily said, looking at two older girls with large trunks, one of them had an owl. Severus made a face. He and Lily could have figured it out on their own, they didn't need a few silly 6th or 7th years. Lily marched up to them as Severus followed warily. She turned to the girl holding a cage with a struggling owl inside. She had long auburn hair, intelligent blue eye, a narrow face and rosy cheeks.

"Excuse me? My friend and I would like to get to platform 9 and three quarters, but we don't know how. Could you tell us where it is?" Lily asked politely. The girls exchanged an incredulous look before the one with the owl replied kindly:

"You see that ticket barrier? The blue one. You have to run through it,"

Severus and Lily frowned. Were these girls making fun of them? The second girl rolled her eyes, muttering something about people never believe them.

"Alright, I'll show you." the auburn-haired girl said, moving towards the ticket barrier. She started running. Lily cringed, the girl was going to bump into the barrier and hurt herself and she couldn't even do anything about it. But when the girl made contact with the ticket barrier, she just disappeared. Severus and Lily looked at each other, shocked. The second girl sniggered when she saw their faces and followed the first one, smirking.

"You go first," Lily said without thinking.

"No way! You go first," Severus said, eyeing the ticket barrier.

"Fine," Lily huffed, determined to show she wasn't scared of some stupid ticket barrier. She picked up her trunk and started running, just like the girls had. She closed her eyes, as she got closer, sure she was going to crash. But the crash didn't come. Lily kept on running, though the scenery had changed. She stopped abruptly, looking in wonder at the platform. It was filled with students, most of them lugging their heavy trunks on the train or saying goodbye to their parents tearfully. The Hogwarts Express was a long, impressive train.

"Wow," she marveled.

"I know right?" Severus said, appearing right behind her.

"Let's go find a compartment before they're all full," suggested Lily, pulling her best friend with her to the train. WIth some help from a few older boys, she and Sev managed to get their trunks on the train. They set off, trying to find an empty compartment.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Don't cause too much trouble!" his mother yelled at him, wiping a tear from her face. His dad smiled at proudly, waving to him as he got on the train. James Potter was finally going to Hogwarts! He now had to find people to sit with on the train. He knew that would be easy, he had always been good at making friends, but he wanted to find his best friend here. That was different. He walked by a compartment full of boys his age, one of them waved to him. James waved back when he recognized the boy, he was Theodore Turpin, their parents were friends. James thought about entering the compartment and sitting with them, but he decided not to. He had to find a best friend. Finally, he came to almost empty compartment towards the back of the train. A boy with curly black hair and a confident expression was looking out the window. James decided he was best friend material at once.

"Hey, is this compartment taken?" James asked.

"Nope," the boy said, gesturing to the empty seats around him. James sat down across from him.

"Hey, I'm James. James Potter," he said confidently.

"Sirius Back," the boy responded. James raised his eyebrows, his family sometimes talked about the Blacks. They were a big pureblood family that came to all the fancy pureblood-only Galas organized by his mother's family, the Dearborns.

"Wait a minute… You're the one that poured Firewhiskey into the punch bowl!" James exclaimed, remembering last year's gala dinner. Someone had put Firewhiskey in the punch bowl, and almost all the adults had gotten tipsy. James smiled wistfully.

"You need to tell me how you did it without getting caught!" he said. Sirius started telling him excitedly about how he had pulled the ingenious prank. When he was done, James told him about all the trouble he caused at home. He could tell they were going to be fast friends. Just when Sirius was telling him about the time he set his uncle's wig on fire, the compartment door opened, and a redheaded girl and a black-haired boy walked in, paying no attention to them whatsoever as they sat on the other side. James and Sirius glanced at them, but soon realized they didn't seem very interesting and kept on talking.

"You'd better be in Slytherin." an obnoxious voice said. Incredulous, James turned around. For some reason, the girl was crying. Probably because she didn't want to be in Slytherin.

"Slytherin?" he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he continued, now turning to Sirius.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," he confessed. James was disappointed. He couldn't be friends with a Slytherin! But this boy might be sorted into something else. He didn't look like a Slytherin.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" James exclaimed good-naturedly.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" Sirius asked, interested.

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad." James explained, lifting an invisible sword in the air. He frowned when he heard the black-haired boy snigger, looking down on him.

"Got a problem with that?" James said, annoyed.

"No," he said, sneering. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interjected as James roared with girl stood up angrily, her piercing green eyes flashing with irritation.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment," she said disdainfully, flushing when she head the boys imitate her voice. They walked out.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called as the compartment door slammed. James and Sirius high-fived, laughing about what had happened.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Remus Lupin sat down in his empty compartment and pulled out one of his favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird. He was opening the battered book when the compartment door slid open, revealing a brunette. She sat down without asking and started unpacking. Remus tried to ignore her and keep on reading his book, slightly disgruntled.

"So… what's your name?" she asked. Annoyed, Remus set down his book, accepting the fact he was probably going to be talking to this girl for the next twenty minutes.

"Remus Lupin. You?" he asked politely.

"Mary Macdonald, " she said.

"Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" Remus asked. Delighted she was asked to talk about herself, Mary began her tirade, telling Remus about how she was a muggle born, and constantly asking questions about Hogwarts. When she found out he had already visited the school, she demanded a lengthy description. Remus was exhausted after twenty minutes. Thankfully, the compartment door slid open, behind it one boy and one girl. The girl had short black hair, black eyes, high cheekbones, expressive eyebrows and a prominent chin. The boy had blond hair and watery blue eyes.

"Hey, can we sit here? All the other compartments are full," the girl explained as the boy nodded.

"Sure," answered a thankful Remus. Mary didn't seem to mind, in fact, she seemed overjoyed, immediately introducing herself.

"What house do you guys want to be in?" Mary asked the group.

"I don't know… My parents were in Hufflepuff, but I guess it would be nice to be in Gryffindor," the boy Remus now knew to be Peter answered, hesitating.

"Definitely Gryffindor." the girl who Mary called Hestia said.

"I'd like to be in Ravenclaw, but I'm not sure if I'm smart enough," Remus wondered.

"I guess I'm fine with all the houses except Slytherin," Mary said. The group continued their conversation, now talking about the Slytherin house and its history. Remus found he was actually enjoying the conversation, and he rather liked the people, even Mary.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Marlene Mckinnon looked around for a compartment. She had been late, and it was all her stupid sister's fault. It wasn't fair. Why should Alanna take an hour and a half in the bloody bathroom to make herself "presentable"? Now Marlene was late and all the compartments were full. She passed by a compartment with three boys and one red-headed girl who looked nice enough and was almost about to come in when a small fight broke out. Slightly annoyed, Marlene moved on.

"Who takes an hour and a half to get ready?" she muttered angrily, looking at her feet. She didn't see a girl right in front of her and proceeded to bump into her knocking the poor girl and her trunk to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, here, let me help," Marlene apologized as she attempted to lift the tunk. It was so heavy that it fell the ground right away, precisely on the girl's face.

"Ow! Are you serious?" the girl said furiously, taking her trunk off her face, revealing her bloody nose. She attempted to wipe the blood off but got it on her robes instead.

"Now look what you've made me do!" the brunette screeched, taking her trunk as she got up.

"I didn't do it on purpose. Stop yelling like a bloody banshee!" Marlene shouted back. Who did this girl think she was?

"Take your own advice and stop yelling! You're the one who started it!" the girl replied, pushing Marlene out of the way, taking great care to stomp on her toes. Marlene cried out in pain. She attempted the punch this pigheaded girl but failed, falling to the ground in the process, knocking the girl over once more. The landed in a heap on the floor. If someone had walked in right then, they would have thought a horrible fight had happened at the sight of Marlene's ripped robes and the girl's bloody nose. Marlene got up angrily and pulled herself away from the girl. She walked down the hall, away from the girl's sight. She wasn't going to get into a fight on the first day of school. She took a deep breath and opened a random compartment, hoping for the best.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Those boys are so irritating!" Lily exclaimed as she slammed the compartment door shut.

"It wasn't you they were insulting," Severus told her sullenly. For some reason, he had thought he would be accepted by everyone in Hogwarts. It seemed as if he would always be that odd boy easy to make fun of in shoddy clothes.

"Come on, Sev, they're idiots," Lily reassured him. Slightly mollified, Severus looked for an empty compartment. They had no such luck, all the compartments were full. They would have to sit with someone else.

"There!" Lily said loudly, pointing at a compartment. Severus swiveled around but was disappointed. There was already a girl inside.

"There's already someone inside," he said, moving on to another compartment. Lily pulled him back.

"Come on, she seems nice enough," Lily said dragging him back. Severus looked in the compartment another time.

"She's a bloody 7th year!" he said exasperatedly.

"Exactly! She'll have loads of things to tell us about Hogwarts, and she won't act like an idiot!" Lily exclaimed.

"Fine. But don't expect me to talk to her." Severus said angrily. Lily smiled widely and slid open the door hesitantly, waiting to see if the girl was going to kick them out. She nodded toward them silently and kept on reading her book. Severus and Lily sat down across from her, cringing at the awkward silence.

"Uh, hello… My name's Lily, what's yours?" Lily asked nervously. The girl looked up at her curly brown hair, stately green eyes, a pointed and pale skin. Severus gulped.

"Hi, my name's Emmeline. Are you two first years?" she asked conversationally.

"Yeah, are you a seventh year?" Severus asked, surprised with himself.

"Yep. It's my last year here. After that, I'm in the real world." Emmeline said.

"What do you want to be?" Lily asked curiously.

"I really want to be an Auror. You know, fight dark wizards and stuff," she answered, seeing Lily's confused frown.

"Isn't that supposed to be dangerous?" Severus asked.

"Very dangerous. That's why you've got to have really good results on your NEWTs to be that."

"What are NEWTS?" Lily asked.

"Nasty Exhausting Wizarding Tests." Severus and Emmeline both told her, grinning. Lily giggled when she heard the name. Emmeline looked at her watch, getting annoyed.

"Where the hell are Dorcas and Amelia?" she said to herself.

"Who are they?" Lily asked bluntly.

"They're my best friends. Amelia's Head Girl and Dorcas is a Prefect," she stated.

Their conversation continued for a while until Dorcas Meadowes and Amelia Bones came in. Dorcas was the same girl who had helped them find the platform a few hours ago. They talked for a while until the trolley lady came and asked them if they wanted lunch. After eating many sweets that surprised Lily, the older girls played a game of Exploding Snap while Lily and Severus talked quietly.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"We're almost there!" James said excitedly.

"That's the fifth time you've said that in the last fifteen minutes," Sirius laughed.

This time, James was right. The train slowly came to a stop as the corridors started to fill with bustling students trying to get off the train. The two boys fetched their loaded trunks and followed the many pupils outside, eager to see what Hogwarts looked like. Unfortunately, they couldn't' see the castle from where they were, it was getting dark.

"Firs'-years over 'ere… firs'-years…" a deep voice said. Sirius looked up and almost cried out in fright. In front of him was a gigantic man in charge of the first years. Once he got over from his shock, he cleared his throat anxiously.

"Hey. Are you a teacher?"

The man laughed aloud, smiling kindly at the students. Their fears went away, this man seemed very nice and helpful.

"I'm the keeper. Name's Hagrid," he answered.

Sirius turned toward James to see what he thought of this individual. His new friend was smiling at man, starting a conversation. Hagrid led them to a vast and dark lake. He told them to form groups of three and get on a rowboat. Sirius and James hopped in one of the boats, hoping for Hagrid to come in theirs. Sadly, another person came, plopping herself in the boat.

"Hey, what are your names? I'm Bertha Jorkins." a stout girl with long brown plaits and plain features said. James and Sirius exchanged a look, they would have preferred to sit with a boy in their year. Fortunately, this girl seemed nice enough, perhaps she could be a potential friend.

"Come on, let's star' rowing," Hagrid said loudly from his boat, whom he shared with girls staring daggers at each other. James took one of the paddles and started waving it around in the water, hoping the boat would start moving.

"So… where do you guys live?" Bertha asked them. James grunted out an answer, trying to get the boat to follow the other. Strangely, the boat started to move slowly but surely across the water. Confused, James lifted the paddle out of the water and stated that the boat was moving on its own. Sirius and Bertha sniggered at the look on his face.

"Well, of course, the boats are magical! That's obvious." Bertha said, laughing. James scowled. Just when he was going to retort something back, a high-pitched scream rang in the air, followed a by a loud splash. The trio whipped their heads around and saw that one of the girls on Hagrid's boat had been pushed in the water.

"I didn't push her! She fell on her own!" the other blond-haired girl told Hagrid, sounding rather scared.

"We all saw you do it. Don't worry, she'll be fine." Hagrid said gruffly. Sure enough, a long and sticky purple arm rose out of the water carrying the girl who had been pushed in. She looked furious when the arm out her down in the boat.

"As if I would worry about _her._ " the blonde said resentfully.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"We're not even in the castle in people are already fighting." a voice said from behind Mary. She looked around and saw Remus, the boy she had sat next to on the train.

"They'll be good friends soon," Mary said confidently.

"How do you know that? You're not a Seer!" Peter scoffed, taking out a pumpkin pasty he had swiped and eating it. Mary frowned in disgust, that boy eat way too much, just like all boys. She ignored him and gazed at the other boats, hoping to catch a glimpse of the castle.

"There it is!" a boy in another boat yelled, pointing to the darkness. Mary eagerly looked around but saw an old wooden hut. Her face fell, wasn't the school supposed to be a castle? The giant man chuckled.

"That's not the castle! That's my hut." he laughed, making the boat he was in shake violently.

"That's Hogwarts!" another boy shouted. Mary looked around once more, expecting to see another one of those shabby huts. Instead, she saw a towering mountain with a vast stone castle perched on top with many turrets and towers. Everybody stared in awe as Hagrid smiled knowingly. He told them to get out of their boats and walk with him to the big wooden door. He knocked forcefully on it three times. The door creaked open, revealing the stern black-haired witch who had come to explain to Mary what magic was a few months ago. She looked the same, only she was wearing long navy blue robes this time.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Mrs. McGonagall. The seat-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses," she said before explaining to them what the houses were called and how house pints worked. Mary listened to each word raptly, eager for more information on this exciting new world.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly," she said, leaving the chamber to join the students and staff in the Great Hall, who seemed to be making a great deal of noise. A million questions went off in Mary's head.

"How do you get sorted?" she asked the redheaded girl next to her, who seemed to be asking her friend the exact same thing. She shrugged.

"I don't know, I'm a muggle-born," she explained.

"Me too-" Mary was interrupted by a booming voice.

"Apparently it's a test!" a boy with curly black hair said loudly. Everybody looked terribly frightened and didn't dare to move or say anything after that.

"The Sorting Ceremony is about to start." informed the professor, leading the group into the Great Hall. Everybody stopped talking as they watched the first years curiously. Mary's jaw dropped, like all the others in her year. They had entered a splendid, vast room with a dark and starry ceiling, millions of candles floating about, four long tables covered in glittering goblets, plates and cutlery. At the top of the Hall was another long table where all the professors and staff were sitting.

"Wow," the poor girl who had been pushed in the lake sighed behind her. Mary tore her eyes away from the ceiling and saw Mrs. McGonagall silently place a wooden stool in front of the first years. On top, she lay down a battered, pointed hat. Mary frowned, what were they supposed to do with that old hat? Before she could voice her thoughts, the hat opened its mouth and started singing. Its song was about the four houses and how you got sorted. Mary sighed in relief when the song finished, you didn't have to pass a test, you just had to put on a hat! She felt like laughing aloud. She noticed not all her fellow students looked reassured, the redhead she had spoken to before was whispering urgently to her friend, something about them getting sorted in the same house.

"Abbott, Oliver!" Mrs. McGonagall called. A pink-faced boy with sleek blond hair eagerly sat down on the stool and jammed the hat on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted as Oliver strode down to the clapping Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Amelia!"

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat as Amelia joined the Ravenclaw table.

Boot, Mimi!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Black, Sirius!" The curly-haired boy who had announced the sorting was a test walked up to the stool confidently and put the hat on his head. He appeared to be in deep thought. One minute passed. Two minutes passed. The students were getting more and more confused and anxious. Anyone who had been talking had fallen silent.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled. For some reason, many people seemed to be shocked.

"Why are they so surprised?" she asked Sirius's friend.

"He's a Black," he answered absentmindedly. Mary sighed in exasperation. What did his family name have to do with anything?

Mary watched the students get sorted, wondering when it was going to be her turn.

"Evans, Lily!" Mary watched the redhead wobble over to the stool and hesitantly place the hat on her head, squeezing her eyes shut. The hat didn't say anything for a bit.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted as Lily's face fell slightly as she turned to the cheering Gryffindor table, a small smile on her face.

A few more students got sorted. Then:

"Macdonald, Mary!" Mrs. McGonagall called out. It felt like an ice cube had slipped down her back, Mary froze. She walked up stiffly to the stool and nervously sat down, gingerly placing the Sorting Hat on her head.

"Hello there. Hmm, there's some courage, fairness and cunning. Where shall I put you? You'd make a good Hufflepuff, Slytherin or Gryffindor… better be a GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Mary smiled widely, relieved. She joined the table and sat down between Lily Evans and Sirius Black. She watched the others get sorted. Sirius's friend got sorted into Gryffindor as well as Remus, Peter, and Hestia. Unfortunately, Lily's friend, Severus got sorted into Slytherin. Lily looked quite upset.

"Are you alright?" Mary asked hesitantly, watching Lily look longingly at the Slytherin table.

"I'm fine, it's just that I was hoping I would be in the same house as Severus," she said wistfully, turning to Lily.

"No need to be sad about that slimeball being in Slytherin, it's all he deserves!" James interrupted them loudly. Lily and Mary rolled their eyes.

"He's my best friend!" Lily said indignantly, turning her head away from James. Unfortunately, she was now facing Sirius.

"Poor you," he managed to say with a disgusting amount of food in her mouth. Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Don't worry, you'll get o see each other during and between classes," a girl whom the Sorting Hat had called Alice Moon piped in. Lily smiled at her gratefully. The three girls talked for a while about Hogwarts and what kind of classes they would take. Even James and Sirius managed to give some half-decent advice. Mary smiled brightly, sure this would be the start of an exciting year.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Reviews are Sirius getting sorted into Gryffindor,**

 **xxpotterlover13yayxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys!**

 **I'm so sorry, I haven't posted in ages, I was lacking inspiration (a polite way to say I was just too lazy to finish this chapter). I really hope you guys like the many new characters introduced in this chapter. Have fun reading!**

Lily Evans was starting to get used to Hogwarts. Those ghosts that had scared the living daylights out of her on the first didn't to frighten her anymore. In fact, she had taken a liking to the Grey Lady, ghost of Ravenclaw who was kind and knowledgeable. Lily know new how to get ot the Great Hall without getting lost now, though that didn't mean she didn't get completely lost on her way to her many classes. Just yesterday, she and Severus had been late to their Transfiguration class because of that awful ghost Peeves. She was getting used to sleeping in a different bed, with different people. Her dormitory mates were funny and helpful, though she wasn't very close to them yet. At least, not close enough to sit with them at any of the meals. No, most of the time she ate on her own very fast so that she could meet up with Sev. Her best friend and her spent the majority of their time trying to uncover the massive school's secrets. They had explored the grounds and all the other floors, as well as eagerly read books in the huge library so far. They also liked practising new spells they had learnt in class, and finding and learning. Their thirst for knowledge on the wizarding world was never assuaged. So far, Lily's classes had been very interesting. Herbology was exciting, Transfiguration was incredibly hard, Potions was unpredictable, Astronomy was interesting, and Charms was her favorite. She had loved Charms right away, from the moment he had demonstrated the first spell. He had sent Thomas Turpin's textbooks zooming across the room and place themselves neatly on his desk without uttering a single word! She guessed the reason she liked Charms so much was because of the idea of bringing objects to life. Transfiguration had been something of a disaster. When Mrs. Mcgonagall handed out matches to transform into needles, Lily and Severus had been greatly disappointed. What was the point of completing that dull transfiguration when you could turn a desk into a pig with a simple wave of a wand? Alas, they had learned that their professor had been quite right to give them such an easy assignment, for it was terribly difficult, almost bringing Lily to tears. She had waved her wand around and said the incantation but nothing had happened. She had been shocked to discover that you needed to wave your wand in a highly specific way to accomplish the spell. At the end of their first class, only Potter and Black had managed to turn their measly matches into needles without even trying. Determined to beat them, Lily read as many books as she could on Transfiguration, staying hours in the library studying. None of that hard work had paid off. By the end of the second class, everyone except Lily had managed to transform their match into a needle. This had reduced Lily to tears. Fortunately, Severus had offered to help her, so now she was alright, but still had a lot of work to do before even thinking about being the best in the class. Thankfully, Transfiguration was the only subject Lily was having trouble with. She had even earned a few points in Charms and Potions! Severus and her loved Potions. They loved how you could make the slightest improvements and come up with a better potion with stronger effects. Their professor, Slughorn, had seen that right away, and now they were his favorite students. Lily could tell he had a lot of those, for he would spend at least the first ten minutes of every class recounting his famous ex-students that were still on very good terms with him. But not all the school's charm was in the classes. No, Lily loved taking walks by the lake, practising spells outside with Severus, eating what she wanted in the Great Hall, discovering more and more on the wizarding world. It had only been two weeks but Lily felt that this school was her home already. Some of her classmates had wizarding parents, so this wasn't very new to them already. Potter and Black, who had become best friends, acted as if they owned the school. Potter wouldn't stop bragging about his elaborate pranks, his mansion and his flying skills while Black had respected none of the school rules and caused trouble without a care in the world. On the first week, he had found a way to slip a dungbomb into Severus and Lily's potion, making them have to start from scratch. Potter and Black wouldn't stop calling everyone mean names, they were just so arrogant! Not all her classmates were like them though. Her roommates Marlene, Alice, Mary and Alice had been quite nice, Alice and her sat together in History of Magic, which Lily had already given up trying to listen to, instead playing hangman with Alice on the corner of her parchment, which turned out to be way more interesting than the professor's droning voice. However, there was already drama in her dormitory. Alice and Marlene had gotten off a very bad start, and it wasn't unusual to wake up to find one of the girl's beds covered in dirt. Marlene had told her she planned on learning how to turn hair green, which ought to "teach that swine a lesson." Hogwarts was somewhat different than what Lily expected, but that suited her just fine. The girls in her dormitory were fine, though sometimes a bit intimidating. Perhaps that was why she wasn't very close with them yet. Their names were Alice, Marlene, Mary and Shannon. Unfortunately, they didn't get along very well, Alice and Marlene hated each other before they had even set foot in the vast castle. "I can't believe that pigheaded cow got sorted into Gryffindor! The Sorting Hat must have made a mistake, she's probably a Squib!" had been the first thing Marlene McKinnon had said to Lily. Shanon established her superiority the first morning, when they caught her in the bathroom putting heaps of bright makeup in front of the mirror. "What, you guys don't put on makeup? I guess it's normal, I mean you have to reach a certain maturity to put some on. You guys will be mature enough one day." she had said obnoxiously before changing into her uniform skirt that seemed to be much shorter than any of the other girl's skirts, showing off her tan legs. Mary wasn't much better. She had gotten herself into some kind of silent war with Shannon on who could wear the most makeup and still look presentable for class. Lily felt rather detached from them, and was happy she had Sev.

"Are you ready for Potions class?" Sev said hesitantly, tapping her on the shoulder lightly, waking her up from her reverie. Lily turned towards her best friend and nodded, wordlessly taking her things and following Sev to the dungeons.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, glancing at her face.

"Just thinking about how ridiculous my dorm mates are," she replied.

"Mine are the worst! Have you seen Nicolai Mulciber? He already has a mustache! And don't even get me started on Thomas Avery! The fact that he snores louder than any other person I know is enough." Severus exclaimed as Lily giggled, taking his hand and entering the dark room. Eager to learn more, they sat in front, right next to the teacher.

"Welcome back, everyone!" Professor Slughorn called out, smiling brightly.

"Today we're finally getting started on brewing potions! We'll start with an easy cure for coughing. Flip your books to page 17 and get started! All the ingredients can be found in the closet." the man explained. Lily felt a wave of excitement go through her. They were finally brewing! She exchanged a wide smile with Sev and flipped her book open.

"Now it says we have to stir it for ten to fifteen minutes." Lily read. Severus started stirring the potion while casting furtive looks to the other potions in the room.

"We're the only ones at this stage. We'll have finished the potion before anyone else," he informed her, satisfied.

"The kid with greasy hair thinks he's the best." A loud voice drawled from right behind them. The pair turned around and saw Sirius Black and James Potter smirking, gesturing to their almost-finished potion. Lily frowned, how were they farther than them? They had been talking the entire time!

"You know, I think it's a symptom. Having greasy hair can be dangerous. Maybe it affects a few brain cells." Potter piped in, his arrogant smirk growing wider.

"That explains a lot," Black said. Severus reddened in anger and Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Shut up! If you want to see ridiculous hair, just take a look in the mirror!" Lily said coolly to Potter.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, the mirror would probably break," Severus said snidely.

"It wouldn't be able to take all that ugliness in." Lily sneered.

"You have nothing to say, you look like an overused Christmas decoration," Black said heatedly, gesturing towards Lily's hair and eyes. Before Lily could react, he threw a dungbomb into their potion and laughed. Lily looked at the potion they had worked so hard on explode, leaving a putrid smell around the room. Bits of it splattered all across the room, some even landing on the teacher's desk. Lily and Severus gasped while Potter and Black smothered their laughter. Slughorn made his way to their table, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

"What happened here?" he asked, waving his wand, making the remains of the potion disappear. Lily and Severus grimaced.

"A dungbomb landed in the potion." she stammered while Black snickered.

"I'll let this incident pass for this time but next time this happens you'll get a detention," he told them. Lily huffed in indignation.

"That was so unfair! Potter and Black are so annoying!" Lily exclaimed once the class was over.

"I know! Their stupid prank wasn't even funny!" huffed Severus, unhappy that his new Potions teacher hadn't noticed the culprits. He turned to the redhead.

"Want to go take a walk around the lake? Dinner's not until six-thirty," he suggested, gesturing towards the next neither my grounds. Lily smiled enthusiastically and opened her mouth to agree when she was interrupted by a loud pair of voices pushed big through carelessly.

"I've got a Silver Arrow 50, it's one of the fastest brooms in Britain! The Chudley Canons used them in the last World Cup!" bragged James Potter to Sirius Black, making big gestures, accidentally smacking one of his classmates in the face.

"Silver Arrows? Those are so last season. This new company called Nimbus introduced a broom much faster, and already the Holyhead Harpies have bought fifteen!" Sirius bantered, smirking at the disgruntled James.

"Whatever, it's not like you can bring brooms to school this year anyway," James informed him.

"I can't wait for the first flying lesson Friday!" James continued, brightening. He had been waiting for Friday since he had ridden on a broom for the first time. Lily and Severus turned around, exasperated.

"When you finish bragging about your amazing brooms and exploits in Quidditch, you'll see that you just punched Mary Macdonald in the face. Do you have any decency to say sorry!" Lily spoke up, glaring at the two troublemakers. The pair turned around and saw a blue-eyed brunette clutching her now bloody nose.

"Hello, Mary Macdonald. Nice to meet you." Sirius said obnoxiously, holding out his hand mockingly.

"Seems like we've made a big impression on you," James said between repressed laughs.

"You guys are inconsiderate idiots!" Lily yelled, taking Mary's hand and leading her away from the group that had formed. Severus sighed and followed. He should have known that Lily would quickly make other friends. She was a people magnet.

 **Xxxxxxx**

Alice twirled her quill in her pale hand, sighing as her Transfiguration explained for the fourteenth time how to not harm your classmates while performing a simple spell. She peeked at the person in front of her, a blond-haired boy's watch and brightened. She would be finished in five minutes! Hogwarts so far was going pretty well. The food was good, the classes were okay, the people were interesting and nice (except for a few in her dormitory) and the castle was beautiful. It had only been a week, but Alice felt that she would fit in easily here. She didn't have any close friends yet, but she sat with Mary in most of her classes and sat with Hestia, Mary, and Kaitlyn Prewett at meal times. However, two of the world's biggest stuck-ups resided in her dormitory. Their names were Marlene McKinnon and Shanon Finnigan. She had gotten herself into some sort of war with Marlene and Shannon thought she was superior to everyone. A redhead named Lily was also in her dormitory but she was hanging out with a greasy-haired Slytherin, which meant she probably had bad judgment or taste in friends. Lily Evans kept to herself. The bell rang and Alice hastily packed up her stuff and almost ran out of the room, not wanting to stay one more minute in that room. She promptly bumped into a rather tall individual, knocking down his book bag.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he said, making Alice think about her encounter with Marlene in the train.

"Oh my Merlin, I'm so sorry, I was just really tired of Mrs. McGonagall's speech about harming classmates while performing spells, and it was really hot so I really wanted to get out though that wasn't an excuse to run and I'm really sorry I hope I didn't break or skate your book bag if I did I swear I'll get it repaired." Alice babbled, picking up the book bag and handing it to him.

"It's fine, nothing happened to my bag. I understand what you meant about McGonagall's speech being boring, I fell asleep. I'm surprised you beat me to the door." he grinned, showing perfect white teeth, helping Alice stand.

"What can I say? I work out." Alice laughed, pretending to show a muscle on her arm.

"That doesn't look like a muscle. That looks like some fat to me." he quipped.

"And your name is?" Alice asked, walking to the Great Hall with him.

"Frank Longbottom. Don't you dare make a joke about my last name or I swear I'll punch you in the face. You?" he introduced himself.

"Alice Moon. Don't worry, I wouldn't be that cruel." Alice said sarcastically.

"Alice! There you are! Come on, Hestia and I already got some spots." Mary exclaimed, running up to Alice, faltering slightly when she saw Frank.

"Sure, I'm coming," Alice answered, following Mary. Mary hesitated and turned around.

"Want to sit with us?" she asked Frank politely. He nodded and followed them.

It turned out that Frank Longbottom was an excellent dinner partner. He had many interesting and funny stories to share and had them almost crack their ribs from laughing at the end of dinner. They had eagerly invited him to sit with them every day from now and on. He brought joy to the group. He had agreed happily. Alice settled herself in her bed.

"You know, Lily's actually a really cool person." Mary declared.

"What? Why?" Alice asked, confused, looking at Lily's empty bed.

Mary recounted her story about Lily defending her and helping her get to the Hospital Wing when she had accidentally gotten punched by James Potter. They had even got lost, it had taken almost half an hour to get there.

"She's really funny and nice. I invited her to eat dinner with us but she declined." Mary finished.

"How come?"

"She said she eats really fast and joins her best friend Severus at every meal."

"Who's Severus?"

"Some Slytherin."

"Oh."

The door opened, revealing Lily, who mumbled hello and went to her bed, effectively ending the conversation between Mary and Alice.

 **Xxxxxxx**

Marlene woke up, yawning as she stumbled out of her bed and changed quietly. She glanced at the sleeping girls in dormitory with disdain and checked her clock. 5:30. She'd have enough time. She tiptoed our, careful not to wake anyone and ran past the empty common room to the uncharacteristically quiet Quidditch field. She breathed in the fresh, cold air and the smell of the green grass that had been trimmed only a few days ago. This was definitely her favorite place in Hogwarts. She looked around, trying to find the four wooden sheds she had spotted the day before. She smiled widely when she found them and skipped towards them. On their doors was written the names of all the Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. She pulled on the doorknob of the Gryffindor shed but it was locked. That was fine, she had come prepared. The blonde pulled out her wand and muttered hesitantly:

"Alohomora."

The door did not open, it was only after five tries that she managed to get it open. Proud of having accomplished a spell she hadn't learned in class, she went in the dark, cramped room and looked at all the gleaming Quidditch supplies. Spare quad flea and broken bludgers were strewn across the floor, next to a wall we're all the tram's brooms were hung. She immediately saw the fastest broom, a Nimbus 50. Even among the recent and shiny selection of brooms, it stood out. She eagerly grabbed it and swiftly exited the shed, a swing in her step.

"What are you doing?" a voice said from behind her. Marlene whipped around, growing pale. Her palms started sweating and her breathing became more rapid. She was relieved to see that this intruder wasn't a person on any of the Quidditch teams or a professor, this person was just a stupid boy in her class.

"Nothing," she responded with finality, daring him to question her further. Unfortunately, James Potter wasn't one to back down in front of a challenge. In fact, his obnoxious smirky only broadened.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me," he said, gesturing to the shiny broom Marlene was trying and failing to hide behind her back.

"None of your business. Go back to the common room," she huffed.

"Are you actually going to fly when no one's watching?" James asked curiously.

"Find, yes I am. You better not tell anyone," she threatened, ready to put the stolen broom back.

"I'll race you," he offered her, cocking his eyebrow at her. It was at that moment that Marlene McKinnon decided that this boy, who she would later discover to be James Potter, wasn't so bad after all. Her hypothesis was later confirmed when they spent almost an hour and a half flying, racing each other and trying to throw quaffles in the hoops and pretending they were famous Quidditch players flying in front of an immense crowd. He was an extremely good flier, maybe an even better one than her. There was no doubt that they would later be on the Quidditch team, no doubt at all. When they put the brooms back before getting breakfast, their faces were red from the cold and excitement and they couldn't stop laughing.

"So, what's your name?" James asked once they had managed to stop their fit of laughter.

"Marlene, Marlene McKinnon," she said, holding out her hand.

"James, James Potter," he mimicked her, shaking her hand.

"Isn't your dad-"

"A famous auror? That's him," he said proudly. They continued talking, asking questions about their parents, brothers or sisters, brooms and what they thought about Hogwarts. Marlene smiled brightly, James was by far the most decent person she had met here for now.

"I know this might seem kind of weird because she just met like an hour ago, but do you want to eat breakfast with me?" she asked him.

"Well I'm eating with Sirius, but you can sit with us if you want. He won't mind," he offered.

"I'll do that then. Thanks," Marlene said, relieved she wouldn't have to eat by herself again.

"How come you don't sit with the girls in your dormitory?"

"They're all annoying. Shannon pretends we don't exist, Alice hates me and has roped in Mary and Lily won't talk to anyone except her stupid Slytherin friend," Marlene explained.

"Oh. That doesn't seem great. In my dormitory, there's Sirius, who's really great, Remus, I think he's really shy because he doesn't really talk to anyone, Peter, who has a few friends in other houses and Frank who sits with the girls in your dormitory," James said.

"Merlin's pants!" Marlene shouted.

"What? Where?" James looked around, scared.

"I smell waffles!" she declared, running towards the Great Hall. Relieved James chuckled to himself and ran after her.

"Are you seriously going to eat all of that?" James laughed, looking at Marlene's waffle-filled plate.

"Agrippa, you sound like a girl," Marlene shook her head and took a huge bite out of one of the waffles, sighing contently.

"Hey, I'm very manly!" James replied.

"Manly? Have you seen yourself?" Marlene laughed loudly.

"What's so funny? Who are you?" Sirius asked, arriving at the table and sitting down next to James. Marlene faltered slightly.

"This is Marlene. She's cool," James Potter explained thickly explained (he had a custard cream in his mouth. Sirius nodded, smiling slightly.

"So what's so funny?" Sirius repeated, looking at Marlene.

"He thinks he's manly," Marlene said. Sirius started snickering, then laughing, then guffaws.

"You? Manly?" he said between fits of uncontrolled laughter.

"Guys!" James complained, reddening. Marlene smiled as she continued bantering with the two boys, she felt completely at ease in this group. This was much better than sitting by herself. What a lucky decision to decide to steal the Gryffindor team's brooms on this Thursday at five in the morning!

 **Thanks so much for reading!**

 **Reviews are Alice meeting Frank for the first time,**

 **potterlover13yay**


End file.
